Abstract

We have measured the quantum efficiency , counting rate, jitter, and noise-equivalent power of nanostructured superconducting single-photon detectors in the visible to infrared radiation range. Our -thick and - to -wide meander-type devices (total area ), operating at , exhibit an experimental of up to in the visible range and at to wavelength and are potentially sensitive up to midinfrared radiation. The counting rate was measured to be above with jitter , independent of the wavelength. The devices’ varies from for photons to for visible radiation. Lowering the operating temperature to significantly enhanced its performance, by increasing the to and lowering the level to , both measured at wavelength.

Received 01 March 2004Accepted 27 April 2004Published online 17 June 2004

Acknowledgments:

This work has been funded by the U.S. AFOSR Grant No. FA9550-04-1-0123 (Rochester). Additional support was provided by NPTest Inc., San Jose, CA, by the RFBR Grant Nos. 02-02-16774 and 03-02-06563 (Moscow), and the CRDF Grant No. RE2-2529-MO-03.